


Those Eyes

by ABJ



Category: The Following
Genre: F/M, Kidnapping, M/M, Obsession, Possessive Behavior, Ryan is not a very nice person, allusions to consent issues, only a small bit of death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-03
Updated: 2014-11-03
Packaged: 2018-02-23 23:53:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2560403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ABJ/pseuds/ABJ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joe and Ryan have always been together, a fact they have hid from the FBI remarkably well. But time with the FBI has left Ryan exposed to Mike Weston and he doesn't think he'll be able to let his boy go.</p><p>Fill for kinkmeme: http://kink-following.livejournal.com/754.html?thread=69874#t69874</p>
            </blockquote>





	Those Eyes

At first it was annoying; the exited hero worship and constant chatter. Ryan took him as one of those kids that joined up because it was the cool thing to do, his family expected it, or because a friend had and he’d just followed him. In the early days Ryan found himself fantasising about killing him, of seeing the betrayal in his bight eyes when his hero drove the knife into his gut before those orbs permanently dimmed with death.

Then the boy started to let things slip. Little things that most didn’t read into. He was more okay with dead bodies then someone with his puppy-like attitude should be, he valued a dog’s life over a human one, and he was the first one of his family not to follow the path expected of them. But for all that came from the constant attempts at conversation, the mention of any type of friend was conspicuously absent. The closest the kid seemed to get was with Riley and that was nearly entirely work based. Ryan still dreamed of ending his life but now he planned to take more time with it, elevating him into a work of art like Joe was so fond of doing. He even considered letting him know the truth before he died, laying out the full story to him and watching the realisation creep into those beautiful blues before they were carved out.

Something changed when Mike shot Maggie; when the rule-abiding kid broke the rules just for Ryan then killed the woman, the one who had dared to go off-script, without hesitation. Not that he knew that that was Ryan’s greatest grievance with her, not the threat to Jenny despite her presence. It was the first time Ryan called him by his given name. To see the kid’s eyes brighten, a feat Ryan hadn’t thought possible for those already shining lights, made Ryan think to withhold that privilege just for special occasions. And wasn’t that a moment of self-realisation, that he was making plans for a future where Mike was still alive. It could certainly be interesting, to twist such an innocent into an actuality of the farce role Ryan currently played. For some time that remained the plan.

\---..---

It was getting harder for Ryan to keep his position with the FBI, to take out only the least important of his and Joe’s friends and not make it obvious that he was allowing the rest to slip away. He knew he would have to give up the mask soon and show them all who Joe’s real partner was. Claire was only ever a prize in a game; one of those big stuffed toys people tried to win at carnivals only to be forgotten the moment it was brought home. It was becoming ever clearer that Joe would win, but Ryan so desperately wanted to at least see the end of the game that he put off going to the manor until Claire was there. It would be fun to see her face when he showed up but had no intention of helping her and every intention of picking up where he left off with her husband. Until then he worked on Mike; the right bit of encouragement here, ensuring he didn’t get the help he needed there.

When Ryan heard that Roderick was bringing Louise and Charlie to get information from Mike he thought that would be the end of it; Ryan knew what those three could do individually, together they were inevitable. Joe would win Claire and Ryan would have to let go of his plans for Mike due to the boy’s unfortunate demise. For some reason that last part upset Ryan more than it should have, so much so that when he saw Mike’s beaten form he took careful aim and killed the unnecessary ones who had taken part. He pulled Mike to him, fully expecting it to be the kid’s final moments and if not to ensure they were; Roderick was too valuable to let his face be known. Mike’s words made him stop.

_I didn’t tell them anything._

Mike hadn’t told. Through it all, and going just by what Ryan was able to see the damage was considerable, he hadn’t broken. He’d kept safe a woman who he barely knew all for a man who had never let him close. Those beautiful eyes were fixed on him from behind the mess of purple and red the boy’s face had become, glinting with pain yet the predominant expression was desperation; desperation for a scrap of acceptance, to be told he did the right thing. Ryan felt something stirring within him, something that was only getting stronger with Mike’s ragged breathing and fluttering eyes. For the first time since he had met Joe Ryan _wanted._ He wanted Mike to live, wanted to do things to him and with him that would make him scream out with far more than just pain, but most of all he wanted those eyes, those shining blue eyes, on no one but Ryan. But Mike was a liability, one that could not be allowed to speak to the FBI. Ryan pulled him closer.

_Stay with me?_

Ryan felt the words slip out, not fully sure what he meant but when he felt the quick little nod against his chest he knew what it was. It was doubtful his boy knew what he was agreeing to, probably taken it as a bid to stay alive, but Ryan was making plans in his mind.

After the ambulance had taken his Mike he begged off to follow it to the hospital, claiming he wanted to make to the trip alone so he could think some things through. They allowed it and Ryan spent the drive with one hand on the wheel and the other on the phone to Joe. Joe thought it was amusing and more than a bit impulsive but agreed to it. Their relationship was hardly exclusive and their “friends” were more Joe’s than Ryan’s. The other said it was about time Ryan found one of his own. 

The plan was made. His Mike got the surgery he needed at the hospital but Molly was there to ensure he did not regain consciousness before he left. As soon as he was stable Ryan would move him to the manor.

Ryan had lost interest in the game with Claire but Joe always wanted to win if just to prove he could. When Amanda started her chapter Ryan tried to claim he was too emotionally compromised to be of use. When that didn’t work he let Donovan catch him with a bottle of vodka when he was supposed to be questioning a witness and got himself sent to the desks where he had better access to the phone if word on his Mike came through. He was so distracted he almost forgot to look sad and guilty when news comes through of a Claire Matthews getting killed at a festival with Amanda and Louise getting away.

He got a call from Molly just seconds before the FBI found out the call to Claire had been traced. He all but demanded to be the one to move her and they mistook his eagerness for leaving as eagerness to help Claire and let him go. 

He doesn’t go to Claire. 

Instead he went to the hospital where Molly lead him to an unremarkable gray panel van that turned out to be a painted ambulance with the lights and all forms of tracking devices stripped from it. His Mike was already inside on a gurney, drugged unconscious. It felt like so long since Ryan last saw his boy but the bruises are still starkly clear. Molly handed Ryan the keys and took a seat in the back; his Mike might be stable but it’s quite a trip to Havenport and it was better to have someone there just in case. 

They make it to the manor a few hours before Claire was due to arrive. Ryan hears the plan to retrieve her went well enough though Amanda had died due to a lucky shot from one of the Marshals. It was probably for the best; the girl wasn’t the most understanding about open relationships, and that was putting it lightly.

He’s reunited with Joe while his Mike is transferred to what will be his home for the foreseeable future. Claire arrived soon enough and Ryan excused himself to let the two get reacquainted. He had been right in thinking her face would be amusing upon seeing him there, though he was more focused on his Mike.

There were three separate locks on the door to his boy to which only Ryan and Joe hold keys to. The room itself was comfortable; just big enough to fit the queen-sized bed, a set of drawers, a small table and two chairs without being cramped and a small en suite bathroom containing items needed to care for his boy’s injuries. The curtains were closed and when he pulled them back he smiled at finding the window plastered over. The only reason his Mike would have to leave would be the need for sunlight, but the possibility of keeping those beautiful eyes all to himself made Ryan think he might just give his boy the necessary vitamin pills and let his skin pale.

Ryan took one of the chairs and sat down next to his Mike. As he waited for his boy to wake he wondered how long it would take for his Mike to accept his situation, whether his bruises or his defiance would fade first or if it would be unending. That was okay though; it was preferable but Ryan didn’t need him willing.

After what felt like an age his Mike’s eyes began to flutter open, looking around in confusion before they settled on Ryan, the only living thing he was to see for a very long time.


End file.
